NiSource (NYSE:NI) Now Covered by Analysts at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm set a "buy" rating and a $39.00 price target on the utilities provider's stock. Jefferies Financial Group's price target points to a potential upside of 10.98% from the company's current price.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on NI. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on NiSource from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of NiSource from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Bank of America assumed coverage on NiSource in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They set a "buy" rating and a $37.00 target price on the stock. Barclays raised their price objective on NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Mizuho initiated coverage on NiSource in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $33.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $36.63.

NiSource Trading Up 0.9 %

NYSE NI traded up $0.32 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $35.14. 2,865,825 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,379,384. NiSource has a 12-month low of $24.58 and a 12-month high of $35.48. The business's 50 day moving average is $33.89 and its 200-day moving average is $30.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 0.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.51.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.16 billion. NiSource had a return on equity of 9.15% and a net margin of 14.76%. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.11 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that NiSource will post 1.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Zimmer Partners LP raised its holdings in shares of NiSource by 146.2% during the first quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 8,907,743 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $246,388,000 after buying an additional 5,290,322 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its position in NiSource by 68.1% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,342,831 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $96,407,000 after acquiring an additional 1,353,977 shares during the period. Vaughan David Investments LLC IL bought a new position in shares of NiSource in the first quarter worth $34,419,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of NiSource by 1.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 54,946,594 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,519,823,000 after purchasing an additional 991,336 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in NiSource by 118.4% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,616,189 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $46,449,000 after purchasing an additional 876,033 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.64% of the company's stock.

About NiSource

NiSource Inc, an energy holding company, operates as a regulated natural gas and electric utility company in the United States. It operates in two segments, Gas Distribution Operations and Electric Operations. The company distributes natural gas to approximately 3.3 million customers through approximately 55,000 miles of distribution main pipeline and the associated individual customer service lines; and 1,000 miles of transmission main pipeline in northern Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Kentucky, and Maryland.